What would you do? You're sitting in Hunter S. Thompson's kitchen conducting an interview and he wants you to drink. So you drink.
I'd been directed to read aloud Thompson's farewell to Richard M. Nixon, "He Was a Crook" (Rolling Stone, June 16, 1994), an obituary fired off in a burst of rage. The author insisted it be read aloud to capture the right effect, and apparently I hadn't been reading with proper and resounding emphasis.
"No. No! Again. Start over. Clip your words!"
A glass of Wild Turkey and ice was placed in front of me -- for elocution purposes, of course -- and the reading proceeded, this time with the benefit of Thompson's coaching.
Atlantic: If you were going to start a paper, and you were editor, who would you hire on? Who'd be on your writing staff? Living or dead.
HST: Whew! That would be fun. We're thinking of starting a paper here. These are not abstract questions.
If I were to surround myself with experts, I'd hire P. J. [O'Rourke], Tom Wolfe, Tim Ferris. I'd hire Jann Wenner, put him to work.
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